Ring-tray.



W. B. DHL.

RING TRAY.

APPLIUATION FILED Nov. 4, 1912.

By hwAarz/ys,

M @/M/ 0' www I COI-UMR A PLANDGRAP); CO WASHINGTON D C W. B. DAHL.

RING TRAY.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 4, 1912.

* Patented June 3, 1913.

2 BEEBTB-SHEET 2.

ill/.114.

WALTER i3. DAHL, or MINNEAPOLIS, MINivrLso'rA.`

RING-TRAY.-

To all @07mm t may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER B. DAHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Ring- Trays; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved ring tray, and is in the nature of an improvement on the ring tray disclosed and broadly claimed in my prior Pat-- ent 989,571, of date, April 18th, 1911.

Ring trays, as is well known, are extensively used to contain a large number of rings to be displayed in show cases and to be exhibited to purchasers. My said prior patent provided an extremely efficient device which would permit the rings to be removed, one at a time, but would prevent removal of a second ring until the first removed ring had been replaced in the tray. My present invention operates in the same way under normal or ordinary conditions, but has various auxiliary or ancillary devices which adapt the tray to be set when desired, so that in one instance, all of the rings will be locked in the tray, in another instance, all of the rings of the tray will be released, and in another instance, by certain manipulation, a lock hook which has been opened by the removal of a ring, may easily be restored to normal position without requiring a ring which has been removed and probably sold, to be placed back in its seat in the tray. While this latter feature could be accomplished in my said prior patent, it was a matter of much greater dificulty than in the present construct-ion. In the said prior patent, however, there was no provision made for locking all of the rings in the tray or for releasing all of the rings in the tray, at will. In addition to the above noted novel features of improvement over my prior pat ent, the present invent-ion, involves other minor, but important features, all of which will be hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings which illustrate the improved tray, like characters Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 4, 1912.

Patented June 3, 1913.

Serial No. 729,302.

indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View with some parts broken away and some parts removed, showing the improved ring tray; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line ai? m2 on Fig. l; Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary views in section taken approximately on the same line as Fig. 2, with certain parts removed from Fig. 3, and with certain of the parts shown in Fig. 4l moved from normalposition; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on the line m5 x5 on Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective with some parts sectioned approximately on the line m6 x6 on Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the parts shown in Fig. G; and Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view with some parts sectioned, showing the manner in which the ends of the frame guiding rods are connected to the rim of the tray casing or body.

rihe casing or body of the tray is made up yof a rectangular marginal frame 1 provided with a top plate 2 and preferably also with a bottom plate 2a. The top plate 2 is pro* vided with a plurality of rows of elongated perforations or slots 3 affording ring seats,

`and preferably the said top plate 2 is provided with heavy velvet, felt, or similar inaterial 4, which is slit at fla immediately above the slots 3. Normally, the slits t are approximately closed but the loose edges thereof are flexible so that the rings y may be easily forced therethrough and through the seats 3.

Extended longitudinally of the marginal body frame 1 and secured at its ends to the front and rear bars thereof, is a plurality of guide rods 5, two being shown in the draw ings. Extending transversely of the tray and mounted to slide on the guide rods 5 are front and rear channel bars 5a and 5b.

Located immediately under and vertically alined with each longitudinal row of ring seats 3 is a U-shaped bar G. These U-shaped bars 6, at their ends, are rigidly secured to theangle bars 5a and 5b, and therewith form a sliding frame having limited longitudinal ioveinent within the marginal frame of the tray and upon the guide rods 5.

Mounted for limited sliding movements within the U-shaped bars 6, are lock bars 7.

At their front ends, the several lock bars 7 are provided with notched heads 8 that are engaged with a bail-like portion of a crank shaft 9 mounted in suitable bearings 10. A bowed spring 11 (see Fig. 1) re-acts against the front end of the marginal frame 1 and against the angle bar 5a and exerts a force which yieldingly holds the sliding frame -a anc 5b, in its rea 1most position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A spring connection 12 attached at one end to the rear angle bar 5b and at its other end to the upper baillike portion of the crank shaft 9, yieldingly holds all of the lock bars 7 normally in their extreme rearmost positions, or in other words, toward the right, in respect to Fig. 2.

`Immediately under each ring seat 3, the underlying lock bar 7 is provided with a hook seat 13, a hook looking lug 1st, and an abutment 15. Just below each ring seat 3, is an approximately C-shaped ring locking hoo-k 17 which is pivotally connected to the flanges of cooperating U-shaped bar G and has an approximately straight lower prong. Normally, the lower prongs of the several lock hooks 17 are free from the lock lugs 14 on the lock bars 7, and the abut-ments 15 engage fiat back surfaces 18 of the said hooks 17 and hold the same in normal positions with their upper prongs projecting just below and across the ring seats 3 and through the rings which may be applied in the said seats.

The to-p plate 2, at one side of each ring seat 3 is 'preferably provided with a downturned lip' 3@ which forms an extended wall of corresponding ring seats. For the normal position of the parts see Figs. 1 and 2. In this normal position of the parts, the hooks 17 are all free from the lock lugs 14: of the lock bar 7, and hence, any ring may be removed from the tray simply by pulling it out of its seat, but under this action of pulling the ring out of its seat, the removed hook operates on the engaging abutment 15 of that lock bar 7, moves the said lock bar far enough to carry its look lugs 14 o ver the lower prongs of all of the lock hooks which are in normal position. Furthermore, the movement of any one lock bar 7, operating through the crank shaft or bail 9, produces a lock movement of all of the said lock bars, so that the removal of any one ring from the tray will cause all ofthe other rings in the tray to be locked.

To prevent the spring 12 from forcing the lock bars 7 back to their normal positions, as soon as the removed ring has been thrown upward outof engagement of the upper prong of the cooperating lock hook 17, each lock hook is provided on its back edge, at the upper `extremity of its tlat surface 18, with a retaining or lock shoulder 19, which is arranged to be engaged with a coperating retaining shoulder Q0 of the corresponding abutment 15. Obviously, when the tilted hook has been returned to its normal position by replacing a ring therein, a spring 12 will throw all of the lock bars back to their normal positions, so that any one ofthe rings may then be removed from the tray.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, 1 provide alining springs 21 of approximately U- shaped form having one prong secured to the bottom of the top plate 3 and having their loose prongs arranged. to press the lower portion of the ring against the cooperating downturned lip or tiange 31. These springs and the cooperating lips Si serve to hold the rings in proper normal relation to the hooks 17.

To arrange for locking all of the hooks 17 in normal position, to thereby lock all of the rings to the tray, I provide a device which, when set, will hold the crank shaft or bail 9 in its forwardly pressed position with the lock lugs 14 of all of the bars 7 overlapping the lower prongsl of the hooks 17, as shown in Fig. 3. its a simple and ellicient device for thus locking the bail 9, l provide a small lever 22 which is intermediately pivoted to the front end bar 5 of the sliding frame, and has an oblique segmental cam 23 (see particularly Figs. 1 and G), which caln,when thrownupward,presses the upper portion of the said bail 9 forward and accomplishes the result just above stated. The lower end 22 of the lever 2Q projects downward through a slot 23 in the bottom plate 2 and when the lever is set, as above stated, to look all of the ring hoo-ks, is in the position shown at the right by dotted lines in Fig. 7. This end Q2 of the said lever is adapted, however, to be engaged with either of two notches Ql-Q extended from the said slot 23. lVhen the lever end 22 is in the position indicated by full lines in Fig. 7, the sliding frame and the look bars 7 are free for sliding movements. lVhen the said lever end Q2 is moved into the notch 2l, the sliding frame will be locked in its normal position and the bail 9 will be set in the position shown in F ig. 3, thereby locking all of the hooks 17. lVhen the sliding frame is moved forward and the lever end 2Q is then moved into the notch 25, the sliding frame will be secured in its most forward position shown in Fig. i, in which position, the upper prongs of the hooks 17 are thrown out of alinement with the rings in the seats 3, thereby releasing all of the said rings.

lilhen a ring has been removed from the tray and sold, or if for other reasons, it is not desired to replace that ring or another in the seat from which it was just removed, the raised hook may be easily restored to normal position, simply by putting the linger on the lever end 22a and giving the sliding frame a forward movement, and then allowing the said frame to return to normal position, under the action of the spring 11. Under this forward movement of the sliding frame, the raised hook, regardless of which hook it may `happen to be, will be thrown against a depending lug 26 on the top plate 1, and thereby cammed downward.

There is, of course, one lug 26 for eachvhook 17.

Preferably, I provide a simple arrangement whereby the guide rods 5 and consequently the sliding frame made up of elements 7, 5a and 5b, may be removed from the marginal frame of the tray, the top plate, of course, being first removed. With this in View, the rods 5, at one end, are loosely inserted in seats in the front bar of the frame 1, as shown at the left in Fig. 2, and the other ends of the said rods are passed through a wooden bar 27 and into open notches 2S formed in the rear bar of the said marginal frame l. After the bar 27 is forced down into position, one or more pins or wedges 29 are driven into the adjacent bar of the marginal frame, as shown in Fig. 8, to hold the said bar 27 down or in working position.

What I claim is:

1. A ring holding device having ring holding elements and coperating lock mechanism therefor, normally permitting the rings to be removed, one at a time, but permitting the removal of a second ring until the removed ring has been replaced, and means for changing the relation of the said parts so that all of the rings will be locked.

2. A ring holding device having ring holding elements and coperating lock mechanism therefor, normally permitting the rings to be removed, o-ne at a time, but preventing the removal o-f a second ring until the removed ring has been replaced, and means for changing the relation of the said parts so that any one or all of the said rings may be removed.

3. A ring holding device comprising a tray having ring seats, a frame mounted to slide on said tray, a plurality of ring locking elements and coperating devices on said sliding frame, operative in the normal position of the said sliding frame to permit the removal of one ring at a time, but preventing the removal of another ring until the removed ring has been replaced, a movement of said sliding frame from normal position serving to throw all of the ring locking elements into inoperative positions, so that any one or all of the rings may be removed from the tray.

4C. A ring holding tray provided with a plurality of ring seats, ring engaging lock hooks coperating with said seats to hold rings therein, spring-pressed lock bars co` operating with said lock hooks and provided with lock lugs and abutments, said hooks being operative on said abutments when moved into releasing position, to force said bars into positions in which their lock lugs lock all of the other hooks in normal or operative positions, and means independent of the abutments on said lock hooks, for simultaneously moving all of said lool; bars, to thereby set the same in position to lock all of the rings in said tray.

5. A ring holding tray provided wit-h a plurality of ring seats, ring engaging lock hooks coperating with said seats to hold rings therein, spring-pressed lock bars cooperating with said lock hooks and provided with lock lugs and abutments, said hooks being operative on said abutments when moved into releasing position, to force said bars into positions in which their lock lugs lock all of the other hooks in normal or operative positions, and means independent of the abutments on said lock hooks, for simultaneously moving all of said lock bars, to thereby set the same in position to lock all of the rings in said tray, the said means comprising an oscillatory bail connecting said lock bars, and a finger operated member operative on said bail to set the latter in abnormal position,

6. A ring holding tray provided with a plurality of rows of ring seats, a hook supporting frame slidably mounted on said tray, ring engaging lock hooks mounted on said sliding frame and coperating with said ring seats, spring-pressed lock bars cooperating with eaoh row of lock hooks, means connecting said lock bars for simultaneous movements, the said lock bars having abutments and lock lugs, and which hooks are operative on said abutments when moved into releasing positions, to thereby force said bars into positions into which their lock lugs will lock all of the other hooks in normal or operative positions, and a finger actuated device operative independently of the engagement between said hooks and lock bars, to set said lock bars in position to lock all of the said hooks in normal positions, and a sliding movement of said frame serving to set said look hooks in inoperative positions, thereby releasing all of the rings in the tray.

7. A ring holding tray having a plurality of rows of ring seats, a frame slidably mounted on said tray, ring engaging lock hooks pivoted to said sliding frame and cooperating with said ring seats, springpressed lock bars coperating with the several rows of the lock hooks, means connecting said lock bars for simultaneous movements, the said lock bars having abutments and lock lugs, and which hooks are operative on said abutments When moved into releasing position, to thereby force said bars into posit-ions in which the look lugs loelr vall of the other hooks in normal or operative positions, and hook engaging projections on said tray against which a raised hook Will be projected and by Which, such hook Will he restored to normal position, When said frame WALTER B. DAHL.

lVitnesses F. D. MERCHANT, HARRY D. KILGORE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five eents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, l

Washington, D. C. 

